On February 23, Russian Federal Foreign Minister Lavrov received Jill Peterson, special envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Syria, in Moscow.
After smiling and shaking hands with Peterson and both taking their seats, Lavrov said today's meeting proved the importance of Cooperation between Russia and the United Nations. The Russian Federation will continue to promote the settlement of the Syrian issue with a view to making real progress.
After this, Lavrov's words changed sharply, saying that the Russian side deeply regretted that THE Secretary-General of the United Nations, Guterres, had been under pressure from the West and had recently made some statements on the development of the situation in eastern Ukraine that were inconsistent with his status as Secretary-General and the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations.
Since Secretary-General Guterres, after some Western politicians, criticized Russian President Putin's decision to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, the Russian side would like to point out the following points.
1. Moscow believes that the current rhetoric about "violations of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and the need to implement the "package of measures" in Minsk approved by UN Security Council Resolution 2202 are far from reality.
2) For the past eight years, the Kiev regime, which came to power through a coup d'état, has been carrying out punitive military operations against its citizens, resulting in the deaths of 14,000 civilians, in flagrant violation of the Minsk "package of measures" by the Kiev regime.
3) The Kiev regime imposed a brutal economic and transport blockade on Donbass, stopping pensions and social benefits paid to its inhabitants, especially Zelenskiy, who humiliated the inhabitants of Donbass and advised them to leave Ukraine. These actions have all the hallmarks of genocide.
Over the years, the Secretary-General of the United Nations should have asked the Regime in Kiev to implement the Minsk Accords, beginning with the establishment of a direct dialogue with Donetsk and Luhansk, as clearly defined in the "package of measures" and resolution 2202.
As for Mr. Guterres's "regret" expressed by Russia for its recognition of the Republic of Donbass, a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, Russia must remind:
In the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, unanimously approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 1970, the provisions on respect for the territorial integrity of a State refer to "a State which, in its actions, respects the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples ..." Ukraine was not, and is not, such a country.
Russia urges Secretary-General Guterres and his staff to strictly abide by the principles adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly. (February 23, 2022, Liu Peng)